Daydream Believer
by The Moment of the Yew-Tree
Summary: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III has always been a loner, but when he and his cousin Astrid move and begin attending Arendelle Academy, Hiccup discovers that friends can be made in the most unlikely of people. Can Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel break Hiccup out of his shell? Or will the pressure and bullies of high school prove too much for the young Sophomore? Rated T for later chapters.
1. New Kid

**Hey guys! This is my RotBTD High School AU fic, based on shadowpiratemonkey7's work of art, which you can find on her deviantArt entitled "Request: High School AU". Anyway! I hope you enjoy, and even if you don't, please R&R! Here you go!**

* * *

Hiccup fidgeted nervously in his chair, pulled at his collar, and checked his watch for the umpteenth time. He looked over at his cousin, Astrid, who sat with her arms crossed, boredly watching a fly. He could hear the voices of his father and the principal in the room across the hall, and could just barely make out what they were saying.

"He's a gentle boy, very introverted—"

"I understand that, Mr. Haddock, and I can assure you that our staff will keep a close watch on him. This is a safe, nonjudgmental environment where your son can flourish."

Hiccup almost snorted. That's what the last three schools had said, but suffice it to say that he was not in a new school halfway through his sophomore year because he was tired with the decor of his last school.

He blew his bangs out of his eyes and swallowed a dry heave.

Astrid finally looked over at him, her pale blue eyes seeming to see into his soul. "Hiccup. Chill. It will be better this time. Just relax."

He nodded, taking her advice and slumping over in his chair, but immediately perking up again when the door to the principal's office opened. Stoick, his large, burly father, squeezed out of the small doorway, followed close behind by Mr. Moone, a smaller man in a midnight blue suit. Stoick smiled widely at them, but Hiccup could see the pained expression in his eyes. Mr. Moone also smiled, but his was a genuine, enthusiastic smile full of love.

"Hello!" Mr. Moone shook Hiccup and Astrid's hands, still beaming like the moon he was named for. "I'm Mr. Moone, your princy-pal—" he chuckled at his own pun, "—and on behalf of everyone here at Arendelle Academy, I would like to welcome you into our family here at school! I don't want you to think of this place as a prison, or a purgatory, or even a school, really. I want you to think of this place as your second home!" Hiccup inwardly groaned. "Now then," Mr Moone continued, "here are your schedules, locker combinations, and a pocket-sized map of the school, just in case. Would you like an escort to your classes?"

"No thanks," Astrid immediately piped up. "We can figure it out."

_Speak for yourself_, Hiccup thought.

"Alright then! It's nearing the end of second period, so I'll send you on your way! Have fun!" Hiccup nodded a forced smile and turned on his heel, stuffing the papers into his messenger bag and following Astrid down the hall.

* * *

The pair walked down the hall of their new school, Hiccup looking around nervously, Astrid striding confidently, her blond braid swinging behind her. "Do you think there's a vending machine around here?" Astrid asked. Hiccup shrugged. "What about a drinking fountain?" Hiccup quickly scanned the hallway and spotted one by the stairwell to the first floor. He pointed her to it.

As she drank, Hiccup heard voices. He looked around like a hunted deer, and pinpointed the source: the stairwell. He grabbed Astrid by the sleeve and drug her down the steps, stopping a step from the landing and peering over the wall that separated their half of the stairs from the voices' half. What he saw surprised him.

Three teenagers about his own age sat on the bottom three stairs. They were all in uniform, sky blue ties with clean white shirts. They looked like normal kids, not the juvenile delinquents Hiccup had expected. One, a girl with short brown hair, said, "He's not _that_ old!"

Another girl, this one with a long mane of frizzy red locks, said, "He's, like, four years older than you!" Her Scottish accent, one that matched his father's, surprised Hiccup.

"And in the grand scheme of things," the brunette retorted, "that's not a lot!"

A boy with shocking snow-white hair said, "He's, like, a sophomore in college! You're a sophomore in _high school_!"

"Whatever," the brunette again, "you're just jealous of him!"

"I am not!"

"You are too! You like me, admit it!"

A blush painted itself onto his ivory skin. "I do not!"

The ginger chortled. "You might as well have just admitted it, Frost!"

He sourly smiled at her and playfully punched her on the arm. "Whatever."

The brunette laughed. "Well, I have to go. I can't be late to Mrs. Bennet's. She's a b—" the ginger raised her eyebrow with a smirk, "—it… of work." She caught herself. "She's a bit of work if you're late."

"Ooh," the boy sing-songed, "Rapunzel Corona, goody two-shoes of the year!"

The girl apparently named Rapunzel stuck her tongue out at him and stood up, pulling up her mismatched pink and purple knee socks. She dusted off her black, pleated skirt and gathered up her books, saying, "Shut up, Jack." She chuckled. "Jack Frost, jealous guy friend of the year!"

His blush returned. "I am not jealous!"

Rapunzel and the ginger gave each other a look and immediately burst out singing, "_Jack Frost, Jack Frost, sitting in a tree! Kissing some dolls that look like you and me!_" He kicked them both. They all laughed.

Rapunzel looked over her shoulder as she began to walk away and waved. They waved back, smiling still. The click of her heels slowly faded out of earshot, but not before Jack and the ginger had started a new conversation.

"But seriously," he said, "Eugene is too old for her. Doesn't he classify as, like, a pedophile?"

"I guess, if you want to think like that. I mean, really, it's not _that_ weird. Once she turns eighteen, he'll only be twenty-two. Think about it this way: When she's fifty-two, he'll be fifty-six. When she's eighty, he'll be eighty-four."

"I don't wanna think about Rapunzel at eighty."

They laughed. Hiccup was entranced by this group of kids; upon looking over, however, he saw Astrid once again following a fly with her eyes. Every once in a while, she would look over boredly at the group, but ultimately, she was looking at cracks in the wall, the sun glaring in the window, or specks of dust on the tiles.

Jack stood up and Hiccup got a good look at his front. His tie was undone, hanging loosely from his neck, and his feet were bare. He had icy blue eyes that Hiccup could see even at the distance he was from Jack. Jack began stretching as he and the ginger continued to talk.

"Does he really even love her? They say it every night, but I think he's just a perv."

"I think you're a perv."

"Again: shut up. And they don't even have the same interests! He's all eco-goth, save the earth with black makeup on, and she's all—"

"Save the earth with normal makeup on?"

"I was gonna say she's all sunflowers and snickerdoodles, but yeah! She's the radiant sun, he's… The Underworld."

"You're being blinded by jealousy. He's not _that_ bad. He wears black eyeliner occasionally, but you'd never be able to tell he's eco-goth."

"What about that band he's in?"

"The Riders? I like their music!"

"You would."

"Oh, lighten up, Jack! He loves her! Now if you want her, hike up your skirt and tell her!"

"I don't—" he sighed defeatedly. "But she loves him. How can I compete with a college guy?"

"You're Jack Freaking Frost! Coolest guy around! Class clown that makes everybody laugh! Badass at everything he does!" Jack smiled sheepishly and kicked at the ground with his big toe.

The bell rang. Jack began retying his tie and putting on his socks. The ginger stood up and shook out her mass of copper curls. She tossed her head back and Hiccup got his first glimpse at her face.

_Oh. My. Gods._ She was beautiful. He only got a glimpse at her roundish face, but it was enough to make him fall head over heels for her. His jaw dropped and he followed her disappearing form as the halls began filling with students.

"Well. They were… Interesting." Hiccup whispered. Astrid looked mildly surprised. It was rare for him to speak.

"They were weird. Stay away from people like them, Hiccup. I gotta get to weights. See you at lunch."

She walked away, but Hiccup was still transfixed on the group. He tried to fight it, but he began to daydream. He saw them, the four of them all together, running through a meadow of sunflowers as best friends, and although it was cheesy, he really enjoyed the feeling of friendship, even if it was a wisp from a dream.

He could get used to that feeling.

* * *

"Mr. Haddock, please stand." Hiccup grumbled and stood up. So far, he was really hating Mr. Black. "Class, this is Mr. Hiccup Haddock. Our new student. And apparently, he hasn't heard of the word _uniform_." The class snickered. "Tell us about yourself, Hiccup."

Hiccup shook his head.

Mr. Black narrowed his golden eyes. "Fine. Make this harder. What's your favorite color?" Hiccup pointed to his olive green sweater. "Favorite number." Three fingers. "Where are you from?"

Hiccup scanned the room, walked over to a map of the country, and pointed to Berk.

Mr. Black raised his chin. "Fine."

Hiccup returned to his seat. A few of his classmates smirked at Mr. Black. One clapped Hiccup on the shoulder. "It's not every day someone outsmarts Pitch," he whispered. Hiccup allowed himself a proud and smug grin. Maybe he could learn to like psychology class, if it meant he could gain some popularity.

An hour later, the bell rang again. Hiccup checked his schedule and began making his way to the trigonometry room.

He froze as he entered the room. He was probably the youngest one there. Everyone else was a lot older, Juniors and Seniors. He backed out of the room and checked his schedule again. Trigonometry with Mr. Bunnymund, room 109. He checked the door. 109. He checked the time. 4th period. Yes.

Hiccup bit his lip and closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing. He reached under his shirt and grabbed ahold of his lucky dragon talisman, thinking about his mother. _Okay Hiccup_, he thought. _You can do this. You can do this._

He took another deep breath and walked into the room again. There was a seat open in the front row, one seat from the end, and in that seat next to the open one was...

_YES!_

Hiccup made his way to the open seat, ignoring the older kids, and sat down next to Rapunzel. She was turned in her seat, talking to a pretty girl behind her with platinum blond hair and cold blue eyes. They chatted about things teenage girls would chat about, and Hiccup eavesdropped to try and figure out Rapunzel. "Well, I just don't think it could've happened!" she said.

"Well why not?" the other girl asked.

"Because, time travel just doesn't happen!" Hiccup's ears perked up when he heard this. "Besides, it's only in the show! The actual copy doesn't have it!"

"But what if you COULD time travel? Theoretically?"_  
_

"Well, then, make sure to take a girl named Amy for him to fall in love with."

The ball rang again and Rapunzel turned around in her seat while a tall man with oddly bluish-black hair walked in. Hiccup suspected this was Mr. Bunnymund. "Alright, class!" he said in a deep voice with a strong Australian accent. "Today we are going to..." his spring green eyes locked onto Hiccup's. Hiccup looked away, uncomfortable, immediately. Mr. Bunnymund gave him a warm smile and continued, "Ahem, sorry. Today we are going to, ahm... Review! Just for those of you who may need to catch up!" A few of the students sighed in relief, a few of them muttering "thank you" and "God bless you, Aster!" Mr. Bunnymund grinned and drew a triangle on the board. "Now. You're walking up a five hundred meter hill with an incline of fifty-eight degrees. How many meters would you have to climb to reach the top? Use sine and round to the hundredth." Hiccup worked the problem out mostly in his head (with some help from his calculator) and put his pencil down. Within a few seconds, everyone was finished. "The answer?" Mr. Bunnymund asked the class.

"Five hundred-four point zero three," the class said in unison.

"Very good. That was a bit of an easy one, though. Try this one." He put a word problem on the overhead projector. _A surveyor is measuring the distance across a small lake. He has set up his transit on one side of the lake 90 feet from a piling that is directly across from a pier on the other side of the lake. From this transit, the angle between the piling and here is 35°. What is the distance between the piling and the pier to the nearest foot?_

Hiccup looked around uncomfortably. When he saw the other students writing on their papers, he wanted to cry. He was really hoping someone would raise their voice and ask the obvious question, but no one did. Hiccup bit his lip. Mr. Bunnymund noticed, and came over to Hiccup. Kneeling on one knee, he asked Hiccup, "Is something wrong?"Hiccup bit his lip. A few of the other students were staring at him, so he couldn't just come out and ask it. Instead, he drew a small circle and a question mark next to it. Mr. Bunnymund furrowed his brow. "I'm afraid I don't understand." Hiccup was almost ready to throw up at this point, so he wrote on his paper, _Can I speak to you in the hall?_ Mr Bunnymund smiled and stood up, walking out of the door with Hiccup following him.

Hiccup closed the door when the had exited and turned to his teacher. He took a deep breath. "Is the lake a circle?"

Mr. Bunnymund looked amused. "Well, let me answer that with another question: Does it matter?"

Hiccup looked shocked. "Of course it matters. If the lake isn't a circle, the problem cannot be solved."

"So then, let's assume the lake is a circle."

Mr. Bunnymund began to open the door when Hiccup said, almost to himself, "Then the lake would be sixty-three feet across."

Mr. Bunnymund's hand froze mid-turn on the door handle. He turned to Hiccup. "What was that?"

Hiccup's eyes got wide. "Oh, uh... Nothing," he mumbled.

Mr. Bunnymund placed his hands on both of Hiccup's shoulders. "What is your name, mate?"

Hiccup stared at the ground and mumbled, "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock." As an afterthought, he added, "The third."

Mr. Bunnymund smiled and offered Hiccup his hand. "My name is Aster." Hiccup regarded the hand wearily, then accepted the firm, solid grip of his teacher. Aster pulled out his phone and showed Hiccup another problem. "Can you tell me what the answer to this one is?"

_A building 200 feet tall casts a 90 foot long shadow. If a person looks down from the top of the building, what is the measure of the angle between the end of the shadow and the vertical side of the building (to the nearest degree)? (Assume the person's eyes are level with the top of the building.)_

Hiccup stared at the problem for a moment, then said, "Twenty-four degrees."

Aster looked at him incredulously, scrolled down to the answer, and looked back at him. "That is...correct, Hiccup." Hiccup glared at his shoes, trying not to meet Aster's gaze.

"Don't tell anybody," Hiccup mumbled. Aster nodded. "As you wish, mate. C'mon, let's go back inside." They walked in and all eyes fell on Hiccup. For a moment, he was mortified that they had heard the conversation outside, but then all of the heads turned back to their papers. _They were just curious as to who was walking through the door_, Hiccup realized with a mental sigh of relief.

He took his seat next to Rapunzel, who looked over at him and asked, "Do you know how to do this problem? I'm stumped."

Hiccup blinked, realized she was talking to him, and said, "Yeah..."

But then the girl behind her said, "Aw, come _on_, Punzie! It's not _that_ hard! You just have to think about it a little bit!" She then proceeded to explain the problem to Rapunzel and Hiccup was left deflated as he turned inward on himself.

* * *

The bell rang a half hour and 19 problems later. Hiccup got up, preparing himself for lunch. He followed the horde of students to the cafeteria and got in line. He felt like a loser and a loner standing amongst the chatting people and guffawing jocks. He bought himself a sub sandwich in plastic wrap and a bottle of water and looked around the room. Not a table was completely empty, not even almost empty, so Hiccup just walked out of the boisterous room to wander the halls. He wondered if maybe he could find the Unknowns (as he had nicknamed the three kids from this morning) at the stairwell they were at previously, but no such luck. Not knowing what else to do, he followed his map to the library. A desk sat unoccupied in the front, so Hiccup assumed the librarian was on their lunch break. He wound his way through the large maze of books to finally find a small table in the back of the library. He sat down and started on his sandwich.

He was no more than halfway through it when he suddenly heard voices. Very _familiar_ voices. He scrambled out of his chair with his water and sandwich and dove behind the nearest bookshelf.

Jack led the way, sitting them down at the table Hiccup had been at moments before. Rapunzel and the ginger, whose name he still did not know, followed Jack. They were already talking about random nonsensical stuff. Hiccup was entranced.

"Maybe we could hire a hitman—" the ginger was saying.

"Merida, no!" Hiccup gasped. Her name was Merida. She was even more beautiful up close. Hiccup couldn't help but notice that her shirt was untucked from her pleated skirt and her knee socks were the same sky blue as the mandatory tie they all had to wear. Her small nose was dusted with adorable freckles and even her eyes were the same sky blue as here attire. She was breathtaking.

"We can't just kill him!" Rapunzel was saying. "Besides, I wouldn't _want_ to kill him. He's a human being, and a human, no matter how much of a _douche_ they are, deserves to live! It's not our place to decide when someone should leave this world."

"Oh boy," Jack said, rolling his eyes, "here comes the religious, eco-goth brainwashing from Eugene again!"

"Jack, these are my _own_ beliefs."

"Oh, _suuure_ they are!"

"Anyway," Merida interrupted. "I think you're missing the big picture here. It doesn't matter _how_ we take care of him—just that we take care of him. He's a tyrant!"

"You got that right. Mor'du needs to go _down_." Rapunzel had a look of malice in her eyes that seemed so out of place amongst the "sunflowers and snickerdoodles" in her personality that Hiccup was kind of afraid.

Jack laughed and tickled her on her chin. "Ooh, little kitty is growing into a big lion! What are you going to do next, Nala?"

She slapped away his hand, laughing. "Shut up, Kovu!"

"Oh, _that's_ hurtful!"

They all laughed. Hiccup's awe turned to terror when suddenly, he sneezed. The three friends froze, each slowly turning to the source of the sound. "Did you hear that?" Rapunzel whispered.

"OI! COME OUT AND FACE US, YOU SPY!" Merida shouted. Rapunzel shushed her while Hiccup desperately began to search for a way out. Jack slowly moved to the same crack in the books that Hiccup had been using. Hiccup's eyes got wide as he made a rash decision and ran for it. He clutched his bag to his side as he weaved in and out of the books, hearin Merida following him. He assumed Jack and Rapunzel were close behind her, but they weren't growling insults like a hungry hyena as she was.

Finally, Hiccup burst out of the maze of books and lept out of the doorway, breathing hard. He ran blindly toward a stairwell and climbed the stairs clumsily, slipping when he turned back to see Merida at the base of the steps. At the top of the stairs, he ran into a janitor's closet and jammed it shut with a wet floor sign. Looking around desperately as Merida pounded on the door, he noticed an air vent. He managed to get it off with one of his keys and climbed through it, securing it in place on the other side just in time as Merida burst through the door, shattering the yellow floor sign, her face red with anger. Hiccup held his breath as she surveyed the room, thankfully not seeing the air vent he was currently situated behind. Rapunzel entered as well and began trying to calm Merida down. Eventually, Merida let Rapunzel drag her out of the room, still fuming and shouting, "When you come out of there, I'll be waiting!"

Hiccup shakily released the breath he'd been holding and almost began laughing. He assumed it was either the adrenaline pumping through his veins or the beginning of hysterics, but he hoped it was his subconscious telling him he could get used to them.

As he began crawling through the airways, Hiccup's mind wandered to their faces. Jack had a perpetual lopsided grin on with very angular features and smooth, porcelain skin. Rapunzel had big, grass green eyes that always sparkled with laughter, even when she was angry. Merida's face was very round, and turned red when she got angry, Hiccup thought with a chuckle. He thought of their laughter, the way they seemed to harmonize with each other in all that they said and did. Hiccup thought of his own laughter, which normally he hated, and added it to theirs. Then he added his own face next to theirs and thought of his own lines in a conversation. He pictured them in a tangle of limbs, lying on each other, as they watched the stars.

Yep. He could definitely get used to them.

* * *

**Aww! Hiccup! ...That's all I have to say about that. Please R&R!**


	2. What If I Am A Freak?

**Hey! I'm back with another chapter in the life of Hiccup! Just a quick note, in the HTTYD books, Hiccup's mother is named Valhallarama, but I'm basing this on the movie, and in the movie she's named Valka, so...yeah. Just a quick fun fact. Also, thank you so much to those of you who have favorited and followed this story, and a special thanks to DinoRhino, hcsp1, DoomgirlForever, Mineblade, and a guest for reviewing, it means a lot to me, guys! So, without further ado, here's chapter 2!**

* * *

Hiccup crawled through the vents of the school and for the the first time ever, was thankful for his small frame. He pulled his small map out of his pocket and looked for the Society Wing, the hall of the school where the various clubs and committees gathered. Fifth period, he had what was called "Geek Club," and although he hated the name (Who would admit to being a social stereotype?), he couldn't wait to meet these new kids who potentially had the same interests as him.

The map didn't really help, though (it only gave him a general direction), so he decided to sneak to of the next vent he could. He kept crawling until he saw light up ahead. He looked down when he reached the grate and saw not a safe place to exit, but the Teachers' Lounge. He gulped as he saw a large woman with white hair and dark skin eating shrimp, a large man who, strangely, looked a lot like Santa Claus, and Aster. Aster and Santa were arguing with the large woman that picking on one particular student simply because she had a rivalry with the student's father was not fair, but she just hissed at them and kept eating her shrimp.

Hiccup held his breath and tried to quietly crawl over the grate, but the hem of his shirt got caught on a screw. He cursed under his breath and tried to get the fabric untangled from the small projectile. In doing so, his elbow banged hard against the side of the vent. He froze, and the teachers below looked up at the vent. "What was that?" Santa Claus asked aloud. _Funny_, a small part of Hiccup's brain said. _I didn't know Santa Claus was Russian!_ The rest of Hiccup's brain told that part to shut up as Hiccup held his breath.

"It was probably nothing, North!" the woman spat. "This school is so old, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole grate came off!"

And come off it did.

But she was not expecting a student to come with it.

Hiccup fell through the sudden hole in the vent, but managed to grab onto the edge with all his might. His legs dangled in front of the teachers and he began kicking, trying to propel himself back up into the vent. He clawed at the smooth metal, trying to grab onto anything he could to help him hoist himself up, but it was no use. He felt a strong pair of arms around his legs and Aster's calm voice saying, "Let go, mate. I gotcha. C'mon down." Hiccup kept thrashing, trying to make the arms let go of him, but Aster kept his grasp firm. He tugged ever so slightly, so as to let Hiccup know that he wasn't playing games.

Hiccup swallowed a sob and slowly began letting go, letting aster lower him to the ground. The large woman was watching from the other side of a chair, swearing and shouting for Mr. Moone while Santa told her to shut up.

Aster helped dust off Hiccup and reached up into the vent, grabbing the bag Hiccup had dropped in there. "Now then, mate," he said when Hiccup was situated. "What was that all about?"

Hiccup turned red and stared at his feet, wanting to disappear, to be transported somewhere safe, somewhere quiet, where he could cry. He could see it now: It would be a small valley with walls of stone enclosing it. There would be a waterfall off to this side...the river would wind through the middle...and a pond at the end. Green grass, bushes, trees...and Toothless.

Hiccup snapped out of his daydream when Aster snapped his fingers in front of his face. This just made Hiccup redder. He had to get those under control! He had to! He couldn't go through life daydreaming all the time! It had to end somewhere!

"Is something wrong, Hiccup?" Hiccup groaned. Was he really daydreaming about trying to stop his daydreaming?

Hiccup shook his head and plastered on a smile that was so fake, even he could tell it looked more like a grimace. Aster raised a worried brow and led him back to his classroom, silently thinking the whole way. Once in the classroom, he walked toward a closet door. "My office is through here," he said. He opened the door for Hiccup.

Hiccup walked in and looked around in awe. There was a small fountain in a corner, trickling water and making a soothing sound. A small bonsai tree sat on an oak desk, decorated with small pastel-colored Easter eggs. On the walls were paintings of spring blossoms and rainforests, lit by a large bay window with a window seat in front of it. Behind the desk was a bookshelf filled with various books, most of them on mathematics. Aster motioned to the two chairs in front of the desk. Hiccup took a seat at one and Aster took his place behind his desk. He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back, putting his feet up on his desk. Hiccup played nervously with his talisman, keeping it under his shirt so Aster couldn't see it. Aster regarded Hiccup carefully, then decided on an approach to use on the small boy.

"What's your mother's name?"

Hiccup jumped slightly, then bit his lip, looking again at the ground. "It doesn't matter. She's dead." Aster sat up in surprise, but didn't immediately start apologizing like Hiccup expected.

Instead, he said, "So just because your mother isn't here, you think she doesn't exist? She's gone, so she doesn't matter."

Hiccup looked up in shock, saying, "No! I love her! Just because she's gone..." Hiccup didn't want to talk to this man.

Aster smiled, knowing he had hit Hiccup in the right spot. "So what's her name?"

"...Valka..."

"And your father...?"

"Stoick."

"And how is he?"

"He's...fine. He's alive."

"Do you live with him?"

"Yes. I live with him and my cousin Astrid."

"Are you happy at home?"

Hiccup eyed him wearily. "...I'm content."

Aster nodded. "So why were you crawling through the vents?"

Hiccup got a pleading look on his face. "Mr. Bunnymund, _please_ don't make me answer that! I'm sorry I was in the vents, I won't do it again, just _please_ don't make me answer!"

Aster studied him carefully. He sensed a turmoil within Hiccup, like the reason he was in the vents was confusing him as well. Aster didn't know what to think, but he knew that he must somehow give Hiccup hope.

"Okay," he said. "You don't have to answer that." Hiccup sighed with relief. "But know this, Hiccup." He leaned in close. "I can see you're struggling with something. I won't pry if you don't want me to, but it _will_ get better. I can see you're a good kid, you're a _clever_ kid. You'll figure it out.

Aster stood up, moving to the door. "Now, run along. Lunch will be over in a few minutes." He patted Hiccup on the back as Hiccup walked out. Aster shut the door and sat down on his window seat, watching the leaves turn red and yellow, then spiraling to the ground. _This boy is something special_, he thought. He made a resolution: He would give Hiccup hope.

* * *

Hiccup walked through the bustling halls of the school, looking for the wing he was supposed to be in. Eventually, he found a hall with "Society Wing" in gold letters above it, and walked through the open doors into the hallway. _Room 303_, Hiccup thought. He found the room with little difficulty and held his stomach to try to stop the butterflies from fluttering around.

As he walked in, he was met with a loud shout of triumph. He saw a small group of people around a table playing what looked like Dungeons and Dragons, which is where the cheer came from. Two people were playing a very intense game of chess, using two boards, which confused Hiccup terribly. One kid, a bigger boy with stringy blond hair, was sitting at a computer playing Skyrim. He turned around, as if Hiccup's presence was one he didn't recognize, and smiled at Hiccup. He got up and walked over to Hiccup, waving slightly. "Hi! I'm Fishlegs!" He outstretched his hand and Hiccup took it, trying not to wrinkle his nose at Fishlegs's putrid fish smell, but failed. Fishlegs noticed and laughed. "Sorry about the smell; I woke up late and didn't have time to shower. I work down at the docks, so I smell like rotting fish a lot. That's how I got my nickname. I used to be Christopher." He laughed again. "Anyway, so you're new! Great! What's your name?" Hiccup hiccuped on cue. Fishlegs caught on and smiled. "Hiccup?" Hiccup nodded. "Cool. It's unique, like mine. I have a feeling we'll be friends, Hiccup!" Hiccup smiled politely, but thought of Jack, Rapunzel, and Merida when he said "friends."

"Hey guys!" Fishlegs called to the group playing D&D. They looked up. "This is Hiccup!" They eyed him warily, sizing him up. One girl piped up, "Hi!" But otherwise all was silent. Then, just as abruptly as they had looked, they went back to their game. "Ignore them," Fishlegs whispered. He walked him over to the people playing chess. "Jamie, Geoffrey, this is Hiccup!" A smaller boy, like Hiccup, and a bigger boy who looked very similar to Fishlegs looked up from their game. "Hiccup, this is Jamie Bennett," the smaller boy smiled, "and my twin brother, Geoffrey."

"We're fraternal," Geoffrey said. "And call me Geoff." Hiccup nodded curtly. He pointed quizzically the the chess game with two boards.

"Alice Chess!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly. "Watch!" He moved his knight forward as you normally would, but then transported it to the same spot on the other board. Hiccup furrowed his brow. Geoff moved his queen to the opposite board, putting Jamie's king in check. Jamie then transported his king one spot away, but again, onto the other board.

"You can't do that!" Geoff said. "You're on board A!"

Jamie furrowed his brow. "Oh yeah..." He moved his king back to where it was and instead transported his bishop, ultimately killing Geoff's queen. Geoff hissed in disappointment and Jamie pumped his fist in the air. "So there's Alice Chess!" He grinned toothily at Hiccup. "D'ya get it?" Hiccup shook his head, still confused. "Well, it's okay," Jamie said matter-of-factly. "It usually takes quite a while to get used to. I didn't understand it completely for two years!"

"He's slow," Fishlegs teased.

"I am not!" Jamie threw a captured pawn at him, still smiling. Fishlegs dodged it, hissing a laugh as he picked it up.

Fishlegs and Hiccup left them to their own devices as the walked over to a girl reading a gaming manual. Hiccup was shocked to see it was the blonde from Trig, studying the booklet for _Call of Duty_ like her entire grade depended on it. "Hiccup, this is Elsa. Elsa." She looked up and smiled. She was really very pretty. Her face held a royal sort of pride, but also a humility that only comes from loss. "Elsa, this is Hiccup!" She stood up and shook his hand. She was slightly taller than him, he realized with disappointment.

"Hi! I'm Elsa Arendelle, great-granddaughter of the founder of Arendelle Academy!" She winced. "Sorry. That sounded like I was bragging. I only said it to clear up any suspicions about my name. 'YES Elsa Arendelle of Arendelle Academy.'" She stuck out her tongue. "It gets so annoying saying that when people are like, 'Arendelle? As in... The school we're in right now?' No dip, Sherlock." She made a face. "Anyway! Sorry about that! Hi! Nice to meet you... Sorry, I didn't catch your name!"

"Hiccup." Fishlegs said for him. Hiccup cast a silent look of gratitude at him.

She looked from Hiccup to Fishlegs and back to Hiccup. "Okay...Hiccup. It's nice to meet you!"

"We'll let you get back to your book now, Elsa," Fishlegs said. She smiled and sat back down on the floor against the wall as she had been. They walked back over to Fishlegs's computer. "So that's everyone! At least all of the friendly ones. Jamie's a freshman, so he's kind of bubbly, and Elsa's a senior, but she's pretty chill, huh?" Hiccup nodded. "Me and Geoff are juniors. What about you? Sophomore?" Hiccup nodded, wondering how Fishlegs could've guessed that. "Cool, sophomore! Well, here's the gist of Geek Club: you come in here and hang out. That's it. You do whatever sort of geeky or nerdy activity you want and go crazy. We have tons of games and consoles, lots of books, DVDs with Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, you name it, we got it. I'm gonna get back to my game, feel free to do whatever!" Hiccup nodded and Fishlegs went back to Skyrim.

Hiccup looked around at all of the students doing their various activities. He saw some people playing a Smash Bros. game, some others reading books, and some just sitting there and talking. He decided to watch Doctor Who, but just as he was walking to the DVD player with it, some other kids put in something else. He stopped and stared as an anime came on. Sighing dejectedly, he put the DVD back where he got it and looked around. Maybe Halo? He shook his head. He wasn't all that into shooters. He could read, maybe? He walked over to the bookshelf, but found that he had read most of them, none which he felt like rereading, and the ones that he hadn't read were uninteresting.

"Hey!" Hiccup turned around to find a girl with dark skin and black hair looking him up and down. She pursed her lips and smiled at him with false sincerity. "Freak. What's your name?" Hiccup stared at her in shock. She raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, a _mute _freak." She turned on her heel and walked out of the room where two other girls, one with long auburn hair and another with short auburn hair.

"We got another freak, Jasmine?" the one with longer hair asked.

"Unfortunately, Meg," Jasmine replied.

"When are we going to get a break?" the other girl asked as they walked away.

"By the looks of this one, Pippa, never."

Hiccup was confused as to what just happened, but he knew he wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. His first day, and already he was being branded as "freak". There was a part of him that said, "Screw them! They're just prissy mean girls who don't know what they're talking about!" But another part, a darker part, said, "What if they're right? What if I am a freak? I mean, just look at me! I'm sitting here all alone, no friends, like a fish out of water!" Holding back tears behind stinging eyes, Hiccup made his way to the bathroom attached to the classroom. He locked himself in and sank to the floor, sobbing. In one part of his brain, he promised himself that he wouldn't be here for long, a half hour tops, but the majority of his brain let the tears take over.

* * *

Hiccup stood up and walked over to the sink. He began washing his face, the cool water soothing the puffy flesh around his eyes. He looked at himself in the mirror, his horrible reflection, and said, "You're pathetic. You look so pathetic, you know." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, relaxing his features until his face was stoic, then froze it in that emotionless expression. "You're ready," his reflection said to him. "You can do this."

He grasped the handle to the bathroom door just as the bell was ringing. He collected his bag and followed his map to the history room.

Santa Claus was teaching history. Brilliant. Just fantastic.

He recognized Hiccup as the boy who fell through the ceiling, but other than a knowing look, didn't acknowledge him at all. Hiccup took his seat next to 30 other equally bored Sophomores and prepared for a boring history lesson.

* * *

Mr. North, as Santa's real name was, apologized to the class at the end of the lesson for the boring day. He said that he wasn't "feeling well today" and that "next time the lesson will be full of wonder as always!" Hiccup was unimpressed with that statement, but a few other kids seemed hopeful for their teacher to get better. "Normally his lessons are much more exciting," one student said.

"He's made me love history!"

Hiccup ignored all of the comments that sounded like they were straight out of a TV commercial and walked to the chemistry room. This teacher he recognized, too. It was the large woman from the Teacher's Lounge, though thankfully, she didn't recognize him. He stood awkwardly in the back of the classroom as he waited for all of the students to take their seats.

As the teacher began her lesson, she noticed Hiccup. "You there! Are you supposed to be in this class?" He nodded. "Then you're new, I assume." Again, he nodded. "Well then, sit..." She scanned the classroom, looking for an empty seat. "Does anyone sit there?" she asked, pointing to a seat.

"No, Ms. Ursula. Stevie used to sit there, but he moved," Hiccup recognized that voice, that Scottish accent, that mane of red curls...

"Sit there!" Ms. Ursula pointed to the seat next to Merida and Hiccup walked to it, trying to contain his excitement.

"Aw, c'mon Ms. Ursula!" Merida's comment made Hiccup stop in his tracks. "I don't like workin' with the new students!" Hiccup's heart deflated.

Ms. Ursula grumbled something about bratty kids. "Is there anyone who is willing to work with a new student?" A few hands went up. "Anyone willing to trade out they're partners?" The hands slowly went down. "Merida! I don't care what you say, he's your new partner!" Merida groaned dramatically and her head fell on her work station.

Hiccup walked over and took his seat next to the mass of curly copper tresses. He nervously took out his notebook that he had designated for chemistry and picked up his chemistry book that was sitting underneath the table.

Ms. Ursula began talking and Hiccup began taking notes. Merida sat with her head down the whole time, but he could see her arms moving underneath her hair, so he figured she was either taking notes, which was doubtful, or doodling, which was more likely.

A half hour through the long, boring lesson, Merida slipped Hiccup a note. Surprised, he unfolded the small paper, and read, _What's your name? _

Pursing his lips, he wrote, _Hiccup._ and passed it back.

She was still hiding under her hair, so he couldn't tell what she was writing. The paper came back to him with _I'm Merida. Look at the guy three seats to my left. Don't make it obvious._

Hiccup casually pretended to be looking at the clock and saw a huge dude with black hair. He was muscular and had a cruel face with a scar over his left eye. Hiccup gulped and wrote back _I see him. What about him?_

_His name's Mor'du. He's the cruelest person you'll ever meet. Steer clear of him. Just a heads up. And don't _EVER_ ask how he got his scar._

_Okay._

That was the last from Merida for the rest of class. Once the bell rang, she stood up, gathered her things, and walked out of the room like she had never spoken to Hiccup.

* * *

Hiccup groaned as he saw that next he had P.E. The last period of the day, and it had to be ruined by P.E. He walked nervously to the gym, thankful for the first time that day that he didn't have to ask anyone for directions. He noticed that it was a small class, so he didn't have to worry about embarrassing himself in front of too many people. _  
_

He went into the locker room with clothes that the coach had given him and looked around. A few boys, all in various states of changing, sat around talking. Hiccup put his head down and headed into the bathroom. He changed his clothes in a stall, careful not to make too much noise in the small room. Fingering his amulet, he stowed it under his shirt so no one else would see it. He shoved his normal clothes into his bag and walked out the back door of the locker room and onto the basketball court. Students, all dressed in the blue and white gym uniforms, were standing around and talking about this and that, girls gossiping, guys being loud and obnoxious. Hiccup awkwardly stood at the edge of the group, looking down at his feet and trying to make scuff marks with his shoes on the court. He heard a few whispers about him, but tried his best to ignore everyone.

"ALRIGHT, CUPCAKES!" Coach Savage walked over to the group of students and they all immediately turned to him. A few looked annoyed that he was interrupting their conversations, and one even looked at him with pure malice in his eyes. Hiccup made a mental note to stay away from this boy. "Okay, boys, over here," Coach pointed to his left side. Hiccup and the other boys in the class walked over to that area. "Girls over here." His right side. "Girls will be playing volleyball. Boys will be lifting." Hiccup almost groaned out loud. Everyone else seemed alright with this idea, except for one girl who started complaining to Coach about how it wasn't fair. "Ruffnut!" Coach shouted. "I don't want to have this conversation every day!"

"Then let me lift!"

"No! I have made my decision and it's final!"

"What about democracy?" One girl walked up to Ruffnut and put her hand on her shoulder. "We should have the right to choose whatever we want to do!"

"Yeah!" Ruffnut cheered. "Let us choose what we do! This is communism!"

"Socialism."

"What she said!"

Coach pinched the bridge of his nose. "Girls: volleyball. Boys: weights. _Capisce_?"

The gym filled with shouts of "Tyranny!", "Dictatorship!", and "Fascism!"

"ENOUGH!" Coach shouted. The gym quieted. A vein on his forehead throbbed as he said in a dangerously quiet voice, "I am the boss here. What I say goes. The boys will lift and the girls will play volleyball. Understand?" Deafening silence. "UNDERSTAND!?"

"Yes, Coach," the students said humbly.

"Alright. Now, if you want to _peacefully_ request a change, you may submit your suggestions for the new order at my office." He stared them all down. Every student had their eyes on the floor, most of them glaring. "Go."

Hiccup followed the rest of the boys. He was disappointed the girls hadn't made a change.

They arrived at the weights room, everyone immediately pairing up and going to lift the different types of weights and looked around nervously, but within seconds, everyone was paired up. He looked around again, and noticed someone he hadn't noticed before. Jack was standing next to some guy, looking around cooly. His eyes skimmed over Hiccup, but other than that, gave no acknowledgment. Hiccup struggled not to break down into sobs. _Stop it_, he told himself harshly. _Stop being so dramatic. He doesn't even know you yet._

After the girls were situated, Coach walked into the weights room and wrote what looked like gibberish to Hiccup on a whiteboard. He swallowed another sob as he tried to understand what it said. _3 x 8 B. Bells. 3 x 8 Bnch. Prss. _What did that even mean? The other boys seemed to understand exactly what it said and went to work lifting weights while their partner stood behind them with their arms out above the bar.

Hiccup stared, trying to understand what was happening when a firm hand gripped his shoulder and whirled him around, bringing him face-to-face with Coach. "Who are you?" he barked.

Hiccup stared with big eyes at the man who towered over him. "Hi-Hiccup," he stuttered.

Coach checked his clipboard and nodded. "Good to meet you, Hiccup. How much do you press?"

Hiccup looked at him confusedly. Coach returned the look. "How much weight can you lift?"

Hiccup shrugged.

Coach wrote something on his clipboard, then turned to the whiteboard. "Can you read what that says, Hiccup? Or rather, do you understand it?"

Hiccup shook his head timidly.

"It means three sets of eight reps. Rep stands for repetition. One rep is one...two." He pushed his arms out from his body and pulled them back in, mimicking a bench press. Hiccup nodded. "So you do that eight times, switch places with your buddy, and he does eight reps. You do this three times. So by the end of the workout, you've done twenty-four reps. Understand?" Hiccup nodded. "Same thing with the other workouts. Twelve by eight, five by five. Do you need me to explain the workout names? Okay. That first one stands for bar bells, the second one is bench press..."

He went through all of the workouts with Hiccup, how to do them and where their stations were. Hiccup tried to keep up, but Coach said if he didn't get something, just ask him. "Although," he said, "since it's your first day, I'll let you have a free day. Just go around, try all the contraptions, get a feel for the gym."

Hiccup nodded and walked away. He examined the other boys, trying to get a feel of how to go about this strange activity properly. When the last pair of boys left the dumbbells, he walked over to them. He tried to lift on that said 20, but found it too heavy. 10? Still uncomfortable. 5? Good enough. He stood in a corner and curled his arms as he had seen the others do. After just a few reps, his arms began to burn horribly. He took shallow breaths, blinking back tears and kept lifting the weights, his arms getting heavier and slower. Suddenly, he dropped the dumbbells. One landed on his foot, and he squeaked quietly. He picked up the now unbearably heavy weights and put them back on the rack he had found them on. He walked around the room, looking like he was doing something, while silently willing the feeling back into his arms. He took deep breaths, trying to will away the burning that was also in his lungs. He decided to get a drink of water.

After a half-hour of hanging out by the water fountain, his body felt normal again, so he walked back into the weights room. He walked around, running a hand over the bar of the bench press.

"Wanna go, little man?" Hiccup whirled around. A large, beefy guy with sandy hair and piercing eyes stood behind him. His arms were crossed in front of his broad chest and one other guy stood off to the side of him, mimicking his position. They looked at each other and nodded. The first guy pushed Hiccup roughly onto the bench, holding him down by the shoulders while the second guy began putting weights onto the bar.

"Let's see, what do you think, Dagur?"

"Two thirty, Eret. Five more than what I did today."

"Good choice."

"Here," Dagur said, getting off of Hiccup. "I'll spot you."

"And I'll make sure you don't cheat," Eret said, standing on Hiccup's feet.

Hiccup squirmed under the bigger boy, trying to get up. "C'mon, little man!" Dagur taunted. "_Just do it._"

Hiccup took a deep breath and pushed at the bar, trying to make it move. It didn't budge.

The two others laughed loudly. "C'mon, little man," Dagur repeated. "You're a wimp. A _shrimp_. I knew you couldn't do it. You're kind _can't_ do a lot of things."

Hiccup's mind clouded. Was he right? What _was_ Hiccup's kind anyway? Whatever they were, they were weak, Hiccup knew. He could barely make out what Dagur and Eret were saying. They sounded far away and muffled, like they were in another room. He pushed harder, and the bar squeaked as it rubbed against the metal of it's holder. The two boys laughed at him. _C'mon, Hiccup. Fight back! Do it! Show them! Just once, don't make a fool of yourself, please! _He tried again with no success. _ARGH! You're weak! You're pathetic! They've all been right about you this whole time! Why do you have to be so dang frustrating!?_

"BOYS!" Coach shouted. Hiccup could barely hear him through the haze of his own thoughts. "WHAT are you doing!?" Hiccup felt the pressure on his feet free itself. "You absolute morons! Can you not see how much he's struggling!? He's smaller than you! He can't handle as much as you! He's not as strong! _He's weaker!"_

Hiccup's mind cleared. His vision turned red. Roaring waves of anger sounded in his ears. His dragon amulet pressed into his skin, burning hot. He gave a bellow of anger and anguish, and with one mighty heave, he lifted the bar clean off of its rest. He extended his arms as far as they would go, and brought the bar back to rest just above his chest.

He stood up and met the three mens' astonished eyes one pair at a time. "I." Coach. "Am." Dagur. "Not." Eret. "Weak." He glared at them each in turn.

The bell sounded and snapped everyone out of their stupor. The three men in front of him quickly walked off. Hiccup looked around the room, still glaring and heaving like a caveman. Everyone was staring incredulously at him and whispering to each other, but only one pair of eyes counted.

Icy blue orbs met olive green ones as Hiccup tried to decipher Jack's expression. He was the only one who didn't look absolutely astounded. Instead, he looked at Hiccup with intrigue. Also... Was he impressed? Even proud?

One last emotion that Hiccup saw before Jack turned his head and walked out was the one that surprised Hiccup the most. One that he would contemplate and would haunt him for weeks to come. One that he was not particularly used to seeing.

Jack Frost had looked at Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III with love.

* * *

**Well that was fun!**

**Just a few quick things: Geoffrey is Young MacGuffin, and he and Fishlegs sort of looked alike, so I said, "Eh, why not?" Apparently, the name Geoffrey is derived from the surname "MacGuffin" or vice versa (I don't exactly remember which way it is...) and Christopher is the name of the voice actor that voiced Fishlegs!**

**If you want to see what Hiccup's amulet looks like, it was inspired by this thing: fate221?deviantart?com (slash) art (slash) Hiccups-Talisman-400114727 (Replace the ? with a . and the (slash) with a /) I highly recommend you check that out.**

**Also, the "love" in Jack's eyes (just because I KNOW there will be rude idiots commenting on that) is compassion. _Compassion_ folks, got that? This is not, I repeat _NOT_ going to be HiJack. Got that?**

**Sorry for that. Anyway! Please review, favorite, follow, and all that fun stuff to stay updated on this story. **

**Next chapter, we will be getting a look into Hiccup's home life, so look forward to that! Also, I'm having trouble with a personality for Astrid. I'm thinking either punk or emo, but I don't know. Help? Review with what you think she should be, whether it's one of the things I said or something entirely different. If I choose yours, I'll give you a shout-out! ;) ;) I know it's not much of a prize, but... I'm broke! Don't judge me!**

**Thanks for reading! This is TMotYT, signing off!**


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